NEW DELHI / AGARTALA, May 23 (TIWN): Counting of votes to decide the fate of 8,049 candidates is underway. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP is set to return to power as it led in 344 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 51, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.

If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 344 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Markets cheered the trends, as the benchmark BSE Sensex touched 40,000 for the first time and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level.

Congress now has downed at 85 seats.